Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Home III of Redondo Beach, California was killed in the line of duty, when his boat was rammed by a drug smuggler’s panga. Petty Officer Home and three others were in an inflatable boat in pursuit of suspected drug smugglers running dark with no lights on when it was spotted near Santa Cruz Island around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Coast Guard cutter Halibut deployed it’s small boat and the crew chased after the smugglers with its law enforcement lights on. The suspects suddenly turned and rammed the Coast Guard inflatable head on at a high rate of speed, throwing two members into the water.

Home, 34, sustained a traumatic head injury, and was pronounced dead at the Port of Hueneme. The other crew members suffered minor injuries. The suspects, Mexican nationals, have been arrested. Drugs were recovered on the panga, including large amounts of marijuana.

The U.S.Coast Guard is out there in all sorts of weather saving lives and protecting the rest of us. We sometimes forget that they are facing real dangers on our behalf.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Chief Petty Officer Home. His wife is expecting their second child. A sad loss.